JP2018062179A - Image forming apparatus, control method of image forming apparatus, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable printing of an attachment file following intended print setting and intended printing order by a user, when printing a file with the attachment file.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus comprises: reading means for reading a PDF file from a storage unit; determination means for determining whether the read PDF file has an attachment file; setting means for setting different print setting for each of the PDF file which is determined to have the attachment file and the attachment file following an instruction of a user; and control means for executing printing of the PDF file and the attachment file following the set print setting.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that causes a printing unit to print a file including an attached file.

  Conventionally, an image forming apparatus having a so-called direct print function for printing a file stored in a storage device such as a removable medium without using a PC is known. In an image forming apparatus having such a direct print function, for example, a PDF (Portable Document Format) file can be printed.

  By the way, a PDF file may be used with an attached file attached. The attached file of PDF can be attached as, for example, a file as an annotation or reference material. As an apparatus for printing a PDF with an attached file attached as described above, an image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known.

JP 2008-54110 A

  However, the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 cannot perform print settings for each of the attached file and the attached file when printing the attached file. In addition, the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 cannot specify the print order of each file. It is also impossible to prevent printing of files that do not need to be printed.

  In view of at least one of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide means for enabling a user to easily set print settings when printing an attached file.

  In order to achieve the above object, the image forming apparatus of the present invention is a format that is not a PDF, and includes a plurality of pages to which an attached file that can be associated with a specified page of the PDF file is attached. A reading unit that reads out the PDF file from the storage unit, a receiving unit that receives an instruction to print the PDF file without receiving an instruction to print the attached file, and an instruction to print the PDF file received by the receiving unit And a control unit that causes the printing unit to print the PDF file and the attached file.

  According to the present invention, the user can easily set print settings when printing an attached file.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a printing apparatus. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a software configuration of a printing apparatus. It is an example of a screen which shows a file list screen. It is an example of a screen which shows a print setting screen. It is a screen example which shows the printing order designation screen of an attached file. It is a screen image which shows the print setting screen of an attached file. It is a flowchart explaining the extraction process of an attached file. It is a flowchart explaining the printing process of a file with an attached file. It is a figure explaining the file structure of a PDF file. It is a figure explaining the structure of the object of main body PDF. It is a figure explaining the structure of the object which comprises an attached file. It is an example of print output of a file with an attached file. It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the file list screen in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the attachment file list screen in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the extraction process of an attached file in 2nd Embodiment.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, terminology used in the description of the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, “direct printing” refers to a method of printing data to be printed by a printing apparatus without using a computer such as a PC. In the present embodiment, “PDF direct printing” refers to a method of directly printing a PDF (Portable Document Format) file defined by ISO. In the present embodiment, as an example of PDF direct printing, an example will be described in which a PDF file stored in a USB memory is directly printed by a printing apparatus. The USB memory is an example of a removable medium. Instead of the USB memory, a removable medium such as an SD card, a memory card such as a memory stick, a smart media, or a PC card may be used. Further, instead of a removable medium, a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive) built in the printing apparatus may be used.

  By the way, an attached file may be attached to a PDF file and used. The attached file of PDF can be attached as, for example, a file as an annotation or reference material. In the present embodiment, an image forming apparatus that performs direct printing of a PDF with an attached file in this way will be described.

  Note that it is possible to attach files of various file formats to the PDF file. For example, a JPEG file, a TIFF file, a DOC file, or the like can be attached to a PDF file. The attached file may be used as an annotation or reference material, for example. In the present embodiment, the part of the PDF file to which the attached file is attached is referred to as a main body PDF. The attached file can also be attached to a specific page of the main body PDF. Hereinafter, a PDF with a file attached is referred to as a PDF with an attached file.

  FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a printing apparatus 1000 as an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. The printing apparatus 1000 includes a controller unit 2000, and the controller unit 2000 is connected to a printer 2095 that is an image forming device. The controller unit 2000 further inputs / outputs image data and device information by connecting to a LAN (local area network) 1005.

  The controller unit 2000 has a CPU 2001, and the CPU 2001 starts up an operation system (OS) by a boot program stored in the HDD 2004. Thereafter, various processes are executed by executing application programs stored in the HDD 2004 on the OS. A RAM 2002 is used as a work area of the CPU 2001. A RAM 2002 provides an image memory area for temporarily storing image data together with a work area. The HDD 2004 is a storage device that stores image data, user information, and device setting information together with the application program. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the HDD 2004 uses a hard disk drive. However, it is also possible to use an SSD (Solid State Drive) that can be connected with an SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) interface similar to the HDD. A RAM 2002 is connected to the CPU 2001 via a system bus 2007. Further, an operation unit I / F (operation unit interface) 2006, a network I / F (network interface) 2010, and an image bus I / F (image interface) 2005 are connected to the CPU 2001. Further, a USB I / F (Universal Serial Bus Interface) 2011 is connected to the system bus 2007. The USB I / F 2011 is equipped with a USB connector. A file can be read from the USB memory 1006 connected to the USB connector and transferred to the CPU 2001, or a file can be written from the CPU 2001 to the USB memory 1006. An operation unit I / F 2006 is an interface with an operation unit 2012 having a touch panel and a plurality of hardware keys (also referred to as hardware keys), and outputs screen data to be displayed on the operation unit 2012 to the operation unit 2012. Further, the operation unit I / F 2006 sends information input by the user through the operation unit 2012 to the CPU 2001. Next, the network I / F 2010 is connected to the LAN 1005 and inputs / outputs information to / from each device on the LAN 1005 via the LAN 1005. An image bus I / F 2005 is a bus bridge for converting a data structure that connects a system bus 2007 and an image bus 2008 that transfers image data at high speed. The image bus 2008 is configured by a PCI bus or IEEE1394. On the image bus 2008, a raster image processor (RIP) 2060, a device I / F 2020, a printer image processing unit 2090, an image rotation unit 2030, and an image compression unit 2040 are provided. The RIP 2060 is a processor that develops a PDL code into a bitmap image. A printer 2095 that performs image formation is connected to the device I / F 2020, and the device I / F 2020 performs synchronous / asynchronous conversion of image data. A printer image processing unit 2090 performs correction of the printer 2095, resolution conversion, and the like on the print output image data. The image rotation unit 2030 rotates image data. The image compression unit 2040 compresses multi-value image data into JPEG data and binary image data into data such as JBIG, MMR, and MH, and performs decompression processing thereof.

  FIG. 2 is a software configuration diagram for explaining the main part of the software configuration of an application program that runs on the printing apparatus 1000.

  The printing apparatus 1000 includes an operation unit application 3010, a device control unit 3030, a network control unit 3035, an image processing unit 3037, a USB control unit 3038, a file conversion processing unit 3017, and a data management unit 3100.

  The operation unit application 3010 is software that performs processing according to a user operation of the operation unit 2012. The operation unit application 3010 includes a main control unit 3011 and a direct print processing unit 3015. The main control unit 3011 performs basic input / output such as screen display on the operation unit 2012 and reception of a user's hard key operation or touch panel operation. The direct print processing unit 3015 controls display, print setting, printing, and the like of data (for example, PDF file) stored in the built-in HDD 2004 or the USB memory 1006 as a removable medium.

  The data management unit 3100 is software for managing various data stored in the HDD 2004. The data management unit 3100 includes a document management unit 3050 and document information 3051. A document management unit 3050 creates / changes / deletes / views a document including files such as image data stored in the HDD 2004, creates / changes / deletes / views a folder storing the document, and attribute information of the document and the folder Process such as change of documents, temporary storage of documents and documents. In addition, files, folders, and their attribute information are managed by document information 3051.

  The device control unit 3030 is software that controls the printer 2095 using the printer control unit 3033. The network control unit 3035 is a LAN driver that controls a LAN adapter such as the network I / F 2010. The image processing unit 3037 is software that converts a full-color image into a black-and-white image, a single-color image, a two-color image, or the like, and enlarges or reduces the image. The image processing unit 3037 also performs conversion processing from image data to print data. The USB control unit 3038 is a USB driver that controls USB devices such as the USB memory 1006.

  The file conversion processing unit 3017 is software that converts image data from a portable document format (PDF) or XML paper specification (XPS).

  FIG. 3 is an example of a “file list screen” for listing files stored in a folder in the USB memory 1006. This screen is displayed on the touch panel display of the operation unit 2012 when the USB memory 1006 is connected to the USB connector of the USB I / F 2011.

  Reference numeral 4001 denotes an area for displaying the name of a folder that stores a currently displayed file. In this example, a list of files in the folder “/ 2012 / November” in the A drive is displayed. Reference numeral 4002 denotes an area for displaying a list of files in the folder. In this example, two files “REPORT.PDF” and “NEWS.PDF” are stored in the folder. In addition, the date / time of file creation is displayed in the date / time column.

  When a file name in a non-selected state is touched on the screen of FIG. 3, one file can be selected. The selected file is displayed in reverse video so that the user can identify that it is in the selected state. In the example of FIG. 3, “REPORT.PDF” is color-inverted, indicating that this file is in a selected state. On the other hand, it is possible to change to a non-selected state by touching a file name in the selected state on the screen of FIG.

  When the “Up” button 4003 is touched on the screen of FIG. 3, processing is performed to update the contents of 4001 and 4002 to the contents of the folder in the upper hierarchy of the currently displayed folder. When the user touches the “Up” button 4003 while the screen of FIG. 3 is displayed, the folder name 4001 is changed from “A: / 2012 / November” to “A: / 2012”. The file list display section 4002 displays the folder “November” in “/ 2012”. Further, if there are files or folders other than the “November” folder, they are also displayed in the file list display section 4002 together.

  When a “detailed information” button 4004 is touched on the screen of FIG. 3, the detailed information of the selected file is displayed. The detailed information includes, for example, the file creator and the file data size. When a “file edit” button 4005 is touched, a file edit menu for the selected file is displayed. In file editing, file names can be changed and files can be deleted. When an “image display” button 4006 is touched, a viewer for displaying the contents of the selected file is displayed.

  When a “print” button 4007 is touched on the screen of FIG. 3, the screen of FIG. 4, that is, the “print setting screen” for performing print settings for the selected file is displayed.

  An example of a “file print screen” will be described with reference to FIG. 4 is displayed on the touch panel display of the operation unit 2012 when a “print” button 4007 of the file is touched on the screen of FIG.

  Reference numeral 5001 denotes an area for displaying a file name. Here, the file name of the print target file selected in the file list display unit 4002 is displayed. Here, “REPORT.PDF” indicates a file to be printed. In the output paper 5002, it is possible to select the size of the recording paper to be printed out according to a user instruction. Here, one of the recording paper sizes registered in the paper feed cassette of the printing apparatus 1000 can be selected in a pull-down format. In the example of FIG. 4, an example in which the A4 size is selected is shown. A color selection 5003 can select whether printing at the time of output is color printing or monochrome printing in accordance with a user instruction. In this example, color printing is selected. A printing method 5004 can select whether printing at the time of output is single-sided printing or double-sided printing in accordance with a user instruction. In single-sided printing, printing is performed only on the front surface of the recording paper, and in double-sided printing, printing is performed on both the front and back surfaces of the recording paper. In this example, single-sided printing is selected. A page aggregation 5005 can select a page aggregation setting according to a user instruction. Page aggregation is a printing method in which one or more logical pages are arranged on a recording sheet. In 1in1, one logical page is arranged on the recording paper surface, and in 2in1 two logical pages are arranged on the recording paper surface. In Nin1, N logical pages are arranged on the recording paper surface. By performing page aggregation, the number of pages required for printing can be reduced, so that printing can be performed at low cost. However, if the number (N) of logical pages is increased, the area of the logical page is reduced accordingly, so that characters and figures become smaller and difficult to read. Here, an example in which 1 in 1 is selected is shown. In the number of copies 5006, the number of copies to be printed can be set. The numerical value can be changed by touching the numerical value display section and operating a hard key (numeric keypad) engraved with a number. Further, when an upward triangular button displayed on the screen is touched, one copy is increased, and when a downward triangular button is touched, one copy is decreased. In this example, one copy is set as the number of print copies. When a “print attached file” button 5007 is touched, an “attached file printing order designation screen” shown in FIG. 5 is displayed. However, if an attached file is not included in the selected file, the button is touched to display that the attached file is not included, and then this button is changed to a non-selectable state. When an “other setting” button 5008 is touched, a screen for performing print settings not displayed in the “file print screen” is displayed. For example, it is possible to set whether the orientation of the image is portrait or landscape, or to set the binding method. If a “Cancel” button 5009 is touched, the screen is closed without reflecting the changes made on this screen, and the “file list screen” in FIG. 3 is displayed. When a “print start” button 5010 is touched, the print settings set on this screen and the “other setting screen” are temporarily saved, and print processing according to the designated print settings is started.

  FIG. 5 is an example of the “attached file print order designation screen” for setting the list of attached files attached to the selected file and the print order of the attached files. In order to draw this screen, it is necessary to analyze the selected file. The file analysis process will be described later with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In the print order designation screen of FIG. 5, reference numeral 6001 denotes an area for displaying a list of attached files attached to the selected file. The attached file list 6001 displays, for each attached file, a file name 6005, an attached source page (page) 6006 as a page number of a PDF file to which the attached file is attached, a printing order 6007, and main print settings 6008. . The column of the attachment source page 6006 displays the page number of the main body PDF only when the attached file is associated with a specific page of the main body PDF. On the other hand, when the attached file is not associated with a specific page of the main body PDF, the column of the attachment source page 6006 is blank. In the example of FIG. 5, “File1.JPG” is attached to the first page of the main body PDF. Since the column of the attachment source page 6006 of the other files “File2.TIF”, “File3.PDF”, “File4.JPG”, and “File5.DOC” is blank, it is associated with a specific page of the main body PDF. Indicates that it is not.

  In the column of the print order 6007, any one of “attachment source”, “numerical value”, and “blank” is displayed. When the attached file is printed immediately after the page indicated by the attachment source page 6006, the value of “attachment source” is displayed. In the example of FIG. 5, “File1.JPG” is printed after the attachment source page of “REPORT.PDF” of the attachment source (that is, immediately after the first page).

  When a specific numerical value is shown in the column of the print order 6007, the print order when the attached file is printed in order after the main body PDF is printed on all pages is displayed. For example, when “1” is indicated, printing is performed immediately after printing all pages of the main body PDF. Since the printing order is designated, the numerical values are numbered sequentially from 1 by the number of attached files to be printed after the main body PDF.

  In the example of FIG. 5, after the first page of the main body PDF “REPORT.PDF” is printed, the attached file “File.JPG” is printed. After all pages of the main body PDF “REPORT.PDF” are printed, “File4.JPG” and “File2.TIF” are printed in this order.

  If the column of the print order 6007 is blank, it means that the attached file is not printed. In the example of FIG. 5, the column of the print order 6007 of “File3.PDF” and “File5.DOC” is blank, indicating that printing is not performed.

  The print setting 6008 displays main print settings of each attached file. In this example, “File1.JPG” is printed according to the output paper A4, color printing, single-sided printing, and 1 in 1 settings. The print settings according to the settings are also displayed for other files. “File3.PDF” and “File5.DOC” are blank because they are not printed.

  In the screen of FIG. 5, the file “File1.JPG” is color-inverted, indicating that this file is in a selected state. In addition, the text color of “File5.DOC” is gray, indicating that the file format is not supported by the printing apparatus 1000. Data for displaying the attached file list 6001 is held in an area secured in the RAM 2002. When a “print setting” button 6002 is touched, an “attached file print setting screen” in FIG. 6 is displayed. When the “OK” button 6003 is touched, this screen is closed.

  FIG. 6 is an example of an “attached file print setting screen” for specifying print settings for each attached file. The screen in FIG. 6 is displayed on the touch panel display of the operation unit 2012 when the “print setting” button 6002 in FIG. 5 is touched.

  In the screen of FIG. 6, the file name 7001 displays the name of the attached file selected on the “attached file printing order designation” screen of FIG. 5. In the screen of FIG. 6, it is possible to specify print settings for the selected attached file.

  In the print order 7002, the designation of the print order can be selected in a pull-down format. In the present embodiment, any one of “attachment source page”, “numerical value”, and “do not print” can be selected. The “attachment source page” can be selected only when the attached file is associated with a specific page of the main body PDF. That is, this is only when a numerical value is specified in the column of the attachment source page 6006 in FIG. Selecting "Attachment source page" means that the attached file is printed immediately after the attachment source page (immediately after printing the designated page).

  “Numerical value” is a numerical value for designating the number of the selected attached file to be printed after the attachment source file is printed. Selecting “Do not print” means that the selected attached file is not printed.

  The output paper 7003, color selection 7004, printing method 7005, and page aggregation 7006 can select the same options as the output paper 5002, color selection 5003, printing method 5004, and page aggregation 5005, respectively. These designate print settings for the selected attached file, and can be designated independently of the print settings for the main body PDF.

  When an “other setting” button 7008 is touched, a screen similar to that displayed when the “other setting” button 5008 is touched is displayed. If a “Cancel” button 7009 is touched, the screen is closed without reflecting the setting change made on this screen, and the screen returns to the “attached file printing order designation screen” in FIG. When an “OK” button 7010 is touched, the setting change made on this screen is temporarily saved, and the screen returns to the “attached file printing order designation screen” in FIG. At this time, the “attached file printing order designation screen” is displayed with the print settings designated on this screen reflected.

  When the user completes the desired print settings for each attached file by operating the “attached file print order designation screen” and the “attached file print setting screen” in FIG. 6, the “file print screen” in FIG. Return to. When a “print start” button 5010 is touched on the “file print screen” in FIG. 4, printing is started. Details of the printing process will be described separately using the flowchart of FIG.

  Here, the structure of the PDF file will be described with reference to FIG. A header 9010 indicating that this file is a PDF file is arranged at the top of the file. A trailer 9040 is arranged at the end of the file so that the cross-reference table 9030 can be quickly found.

  The cross-reference table 9030 describes a list of objects in the file, and by referring to the list, the objects (9020, 9021, 9022) in the file can be accessed. An object is a component constituting a document such as a font, a page, a sampling image, and an embedded file stream.

  Next, an object representing a PDF file to which an attached file is attached will be described with reference to FIG. 12000 is REPORT. A page tree object representing the page structure of P. In 12010, “Type” is set to “Pages” to indicate that 12000 is a page tree object. “Kids” is arranged as the second element of the page tree list. Here, indirect references to page objects are listed in page order. Report. Since the PDF is composed of three pages, the indirect reference to the page object (12100) of the first page, the page object (12200) of the second page, and the page object (not shown) of the third page is included here. Is described. The last element is “Count” 12030 representing the number of pages. Here, “3” is described. Next, the page object 12100 for the first page will be described. In 12110, “Type” is set to “Page” because 12100 indicates a page object. As the second element, 12120 describes “Parent” referring to the parent page tree. Here, since the parent page tree is 12000, an indirect reference to 12000 is described. A content stream 12130 is referred to on this page. Here, references to content arrangements and the like are listed in order. Here, since the attached file (File1.jpg) described with reference to FIG. 10 is included as one of the contents, indirect reference to 10010 is described.

  As described above, it is possible to determine that the attached file “File1.jpg” is attached to the first page by referring to the page object of the first page. When there is no reference from the page object, it can be determined that there is no attached page.

  Next, an object representing an attached file will be described with reference to FIG. Here, File1. An example of expressing JPG will be described. The attached file is expressed using two objects. First, referring to a file is represented by the file designation object 10000 represented in the diagram on the left side of FIG. The file designation object 10000 is composed of the following elements. Type 10010 is “Filespec” indicating that this object is a file dictionary. F10020 means that the file name is “File1.JPG”. The EF 10030 refers to the embedded file stream object 10100. An embedded file stream object is an object that represents an embedded file. Type 10110 is “EmbeddedFile” indicating that this object is an embedded file stream. Length 10120 represents the length of the stream. Here, the length of the stream is 1000000 bytes. SubType 10130 is “image-jpeg”, indicating that this file is a JPEG file. In the stream 10140, actual file data is written.

  To display the “attached file printing order designation screen” in FIG. 5, it is necessary to analyze the structure of the file. Here, the file structure analysis processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The process of the flowchart of FIG. 7 is started when the user touches the “print attached file” button 5007 on the “file print screen” of FIG. 4 displayed on the screen of the operation unit 2012. The processing described in this flowchart is performed by the CPU 2001 executing a program loaded from the HDD 2004 to the RAM 2002.

  In step S <b> 1010, the CPU 2001 reads a PDF file in a selected state from among the PDF files stored in the USB memory 1006 connected to the USB memory I / F 2011 in order to analyze the file structure, and the RAM 2002. Write to.

  In step S <b> 1020, the CPU 2001 sequentially reads one object from the cross-reference table 9030 of the PDF file written in the RAM 2002.

  If there are no more objects to be processed in S1030, the file is closed and the memory is released in S1130, and this flow is ended.

  In S1040, it is determined whether the read object is an attached file. If the type of the object is Filespec such as 10010, the type of the reference destination object of the EF element is referred to. If this is an EmbeddedFile such as 10110, it is determined that the file is an attached file. If it is determined that the file is not an attached file, the process proceeds to S1120, and a process corresponding to the type of object is performed. This process is a well-known process conventionally performed.

  In S1050, the file name of the object determined to be an attached file in S1040 is read, an area for writing information for one file is secured, and the read file name is added to the display area of the attached file list 6001. REPORT. In the example of PDF, the attached files “File1.JPG”, “File2.TIF”, “File3.PDF”, “File4.PDF”, “File5.DOC” are sequentially read, and the display area of the attached file list 6001 Is displayed.

  In step S1060, a page object that refers to the attached file object is searched, and the presence or absence of the reference source is checked. If there is a reference source page, the process proceeds to S1070. If not, the process proceeds to S1100.

  In step S1070, the page number of the reference source is written in the area of the attachment source page 6006 of the attachment file list 6001. In S1100, blank data indicating that there is no reference source page in the area of the attachment source page 6006 is written.

  In S1080, the extension of the file name 10020 of the attached file is read to determine whether the file can be printed. In the present embodiment, it is determined that the extensions “JPG”, “TIF”, and “PDF” can be printed, but the other extensions cannot be printed. If printing is possible, the process proceeds to S1090; otherwise, the process proceeds to S1110.

  In step S1090, the fact that printing is possible is written in the printable data portion of the data storage area of the attached file list 6001. Further, the stream 10140 is read and stored as temporary file information in the document information 3051 using the document management unit 3050.

  In S1110, the fact that printing is not possible is written in the printable data part of the data storage area of the attached file list 6001.

  The example of displaying the attached file printing order designation screen has been described above. By executing the processing procedure of FIG. 7, for example, a screen as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed, and the user can identify whether or not an attached file is attached to the main body PDF. 7 starts when the user touches the “print attached file” button 5007 on the screen of FIG. 4, but starts when the USB memory 1006 is connected to the USB I / F 2011. May be.

  Next, a processing procedure when printing a PDF file stored in the USB memory 1006 will be described. The flowchart of FIG. 8 describes the process of printing the attached file in the specified order. The processing described in this flowchart is performed by the CPU 2001 executing a program loaded from the HDD 2004 to the RAM 2002.

  The flowchart of FIG. 8 starts processing when the “print start” button 5010 on the file print screen of FIG. 4 is pressed.

  In step S2010, one page of data is read from the file saved in the RAM 2002 in step S1010, and is converted into a designated print format using the file conversion processing unit 3017 and the image processing unit 3037. At this time, conversion is performed in accordance with the print settings specified in the “file print screen” of FIG. Further, the print format data is stored in the document information 3051 using the document management unit 3050.

  In S2020, the attachment source page portion of the data storage area of the attached file list 6001 is referred to and it is determined whether there is an attached file to be printed after the target page. If the “attachment source” value is set in the column of the print order 6007 set on the screen of FIG. 5, YES is determined in S2020.

  If NO is determined in S2020, the process proceeds to S2040. If YES is determined, the process proceeds to S2030. In S2030, the attached file found in S2020 is read from the document information 3051 using the document management unit 3050. Next, the read attached file is converted into a print format using the file conversion processing unit 3017 and the image processing unit 3037. At this time, it is converted into a print format in accordance with the print setting designated on the “attached file print setting screen” of FIG. Further, the print format data is stored in the document information 3051 using the document management unit 3050.

  In S2040, it is determined whether or not processing has been completed up to the last page. If processing has been completed up to the final page, the processing proceeds to S2050, and if there are still pages to be processed, the processing proceeds to S2010. In S2050 and S2060, an attachment file having no attachment source page, that is, an attachment file in which the attachment file is associated with a specific page of the main body PDF is converted into print data.

  In S2050, first, the loop counter is set to 1, and it is determined whether there is an attached file to be printed. If so, the process proceeds to S2060. This determination is made by referring to the print order part of the data storage area of the attached file list 6001 and determining whether there is a match with the loop counter. In step S2060, a file whose print page portion matches the loop counter is converted into a print format and stored in the document information 3051. This process is the same as S2030. Here, the loop counter is further incremented by one.

  In S2070, the print data stored in the document information 3051 in S2010, S2030, and S2060 is combined into one print data so that it can be executed as one print job.

  In step S2080, the print job created in step S2070 is executed, an image is formed by the printer 2095, and the image is printed on paper. At this time, the main body PDF is printed according to the print setting accepted in FIG. 5, and when an attached file is attached, the attached file is printed according to the print setting accepted in FIG.

FIG. 12 shows an example of printing according to the present embodiment. FIG. 12 shows an example of printing the following four files. That is,
・ "REPORT.PDF" (main body PDF) consisting of 3 pages,
・ Attached file of “File1.JPG” attached on the first page of the main body PDF
An attachment of “File4.JPG” and “File2.TIF” that are not associated with a specific page. The example of FIG. 12 is an example in which printing is performed according to the order set on the screen of FIG.

  In FIG. 12, first, the first page of “REPORT.PDF” is printed, and then “File1.JPG” is printed. Next, the second and third pages of “REPORT.PDF” are printed. When all pages of “REPORT.PDF” have been printed, “File4.JPG” designated first is printed. Finally, “File2.TIF” is printed. “File2.TIF” is an 8-page file, but is printed on one sheet of recording paper because double-sided, 4-in-1 print settings are made. Here, only the logic 4 page is printed on the front side, but the logic 4 page is also printed on the back side.

  The first embodiment has been described above. According to the first embodiment, when printing a PDF file to which a file is attached, the print order of the attached file and the print setting of the attached file can be designated for each file. As a result, the usability of the user when directly printing a file including an attached file is improved.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In the second embodiment, an example will be described in which a user directly prints a PDF file stored in a personal computer using a Web application that runs on a Web browser.

  The PDF file includes a plurality of attached files, and the attached files are printed together with the main body.

  FIG. 13 is a system configuration diagram illustrating a system configuration including the printing apparatus 1000 according to the second embodiment. The printing apparatus 1000 is connected to a local area network (LAN) 1005. A personal computer (PC) 1002 is connected to the LAN 1005 and can communicate with the printing apparatus 1000. A wireless LAN router 1007 is connected to the LAN 1005. Note that the configuration of the printing apparatus 1000 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  In addition, the smartphone 1003 and the tablet terminal 1004 can communicate with the printing apparatus 1000 via the wireless LAN router 1007.

  The PC 1002, the smartphone 1003, and the tablet terminal 1004 incorporate a Web browser, and are configured to display and operate a Web page provided by a Web server on the network.

  FIG. 14 is an example of a file print screen displayed on the Web browser operating on the PC 1002. This file print screen is displayed when a user performs a direct printing operation by accessing a URL (Unified Resource Locator) for Web page execution provided by a user using a Web browser. This screen is created by the Web server unit (not shown) of the printing apparatus 1000 and returned to the PC 1002. At this time, a screen is created using HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) or the like, and screen or screen operation information is transmitted / received using HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol).

  In FIG. 14, reference numeral 15001 denotes a file name display unit. This is a part for inputting the file name of the file to be printed. Characters can be directly input using a keyboard or the like. Further, by operating the “Browse” button, a file can be selected and input from a list of files stored in the file system of the PC 1002 from a file selection screen provided by the Web browser. Here, the file name “REPORT.PDF” is to be printed. In the output number designation part, the number of copies to be printed can be designated. The number of copies to be printed can be directly input using a keyboard or the like. Further, the number of copies can be increased by operating the “upward triangle” button, and the number of copies can be decreased by operating the “downward triangle” button. Only positive integers can be entered here. In this example, “1 copy” is designated. In the output paper selection section, the size of the recording paper on which printing output is performed can be selected. Here, one of the recording paper sizes held by the printing apparatus can be selected. Here, an example in which the A4 size is selected is shown.

  In the duplex printing designation section, it is possible to select whether printing at the time of output is simplex printing or duplex printing. In single-sided printing, printing is performed only on the front surface of the recording paper, and in double-sided printing, printing is performed on both the front and back surfaces of the recording paper. In this example, single-sided printing is selected.

  The binding direction can be specified in the binding direction designation section. As the binding direction, “long edge binding (top)”, “long edge binding (bottom)”, “short edge binding (left)”, “short edge binding (right)”, etc. can be specified. Here, an example in which “long edge (upper)” is designated is shown. When the “Cancel” button 15009 is operated, the Web UI operation unit 3016 is notified that the cancel button has been operated.

  When the “print” button is operated, the print settings set on this screen are sent to the Web server unit of the printing apparatus 1000. At this time, the file specified in the file name display unit 5001 is also sent to the Web UI operation unit.

  FIG. 15 is an example of an attached file list screen for designating whether to print an attached file list included in the selected file and whether to print the file. In order to render this screen, it is necessary to analyze a file designated as a print target. The file analysis process will be described later with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Reference numeral 16000 displays a list of attached files included in the selected file. A file name and print designation column are displayed for each attached file.

  In the print designation column, whether or not printing is possible is displayed, and if printing is possible, a check box for designating whether or not to print is displayed.

  The line 16001 includes a file with the file name “File1.JPG”, “printable” is displayed in the print designation column, and the check box is selected. In this example, File1. Specifies that JPG is to be printed. The line 16002 includes a file with the file name “File2.TIF”, “printable” is displayed in the print designation column, and the check box is not selected. In this example, File2. The TIF specifies that printing is possible but not printing. In the line 6003, the file name “File5.DOC” is displayed in gray, and “Printing not possible” is displayed in the print designation field, thereby displaying File5. Although DOC is included, it indicates that the file is not printable.

  When the “Cancel” button 16010 is operated, the Web server of the printing apparatus 1000 is notified that the cancel operation has been performed. When the “OK” button 16020 is operated, the content specified on this screen is sent to the Web server.

  To display the “attached file list” screen of FIG. 15, it is necessary to analyze the structure of the file. Here, the file structure analysis processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Assume that the CPU 2001 executes all the processes described in this flowchart by executing the software of the direct print processing unit 3015.

  This process is started when the user operates the “print” button 15010 in the “file print screen” displayed in the Web browser operating on the PC 1002. When a “print” button 15010 is operated on the Web browser, the content designated on the screen and the substance of the file designated on the screen are transmitted to the printing apparatus 1000 via the LAN 1005. 1001 receives the transmitted data via the network I / F 2010. This data reception processing is mainly processed by the Web server of the printing apparatus.

  In step S <b> 11010, the PDF file received from the PC 1002 by the printing apparatus 1000 and the print settings designated on the “file print” screen in FIG. 14 are stored in the RAM 2002.

  In step S11020, one object is read from the cross-reference table 9030 of the PDF file stored in the RAM 2002.

  If there are no more objects to be processed in S11030, the process proceeds to S11125. In S11040, it is determined whether the read object is an attached file. If the type of the object is Filespec such as 10010, the type of the reference destination object of the EF element is referred to. If this is an EmbeddedFile such as 10110, it is determined that the file is an attached file. If it is determined that the file is not an attached file, the process proceeds to S1120 to perform a process according to the type of object. Since this process is a well-known process that has been performed conventionally, no particular description will be given here.

  In S11050, the file name “File1.JPG” of the attached file is read, an area for writing information for one file is secured in the data storage area of the attached file list 6001, and the file name portion is written.

  In step S11060, a page object that refers to the attached file object is searched, and the presence or absence of the reference source is checked. If there is a reference source page, the process proceeds to S11070, and if not, the process proceeds to S11100. In step S11070, the page number of the reference source is written in the attachment source page portion of the data storage area of the attachment file list 6001. In S11100, blank data indicating that there is no reference source page is written in the reference source page number portion.

  In S11080, the extension of the file name 10020 of the attached file is read to determine whether the file can be printed. In this embodiment, it is determined that the extensions “JPG”, “TIF”, and “PDF” can be printed, but other than that, it cannot be printed. If printing is possible, the process proceeds to S11090; otherwise, the process proceeds to S11110.

  In S11090, the fact that printing is possible is written in the printable data part of the data storage area of the attached file list 6001. Further, the stream 10140 is read out and stored as temporary file information in the document information 3051 using the document management unit 3050.

  In step S11110, the fact that printing is not possible is written in the printable data portion of the data storage area of the attached file list 6001.

  In S11125, it is checked whether the file being analyzed is determined to have an attached file in S11040. If there is an attached file, the process branches to S11130, and if not, the process branches to S11135. In S11130, the “attached file list” screen of FIG. 15 is created and sent to the PC 1002. In step S11135, the PDF file stored in the RAM 2002 is printed according to the settings of the direct print execution screen and the attached file list screen stored in the RAM 2002. Then, a screen notifying that printing has been started is returned to the PC 1002. In the embodiment described above, an example in which a PDF with an attached file is stored in the USB memory 1006 has been described. However, a PDF with an attached file stored in the HDD 2004 can also be implemented in the same manner. . In this case, the document management unit 3050 may be changed to access instead of the USB control unit 3038.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example of direct printing of a PDF file has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to direct printing of an OFFICE application file (docx, pptx, etc.) of Microsoft Corporation.

  The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, or the like) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

1000 Printing device 1005 LAN
1006 USB memory 2000 Controller unit 2001 CPU
2002 RAM
2004 HDD
2005 Image I / F
2006 Operation unit I / F
2007 System bus 2008 Image bus 2010 Network I / F
2011 USB I / F
2012 Operation unit 2020 Device I / F
2030 Image rotation unit 2040 Image compression unit 2060 Raster image processor 2090 Printer image processing unit 2095 Printer 5001 File name 5002 Output paper 5003 Color selection 5004 Printing method 5005 Page aggregation 5006 Number of copies 6001 Attached file list display unit 7002 Printing order 7003 Output paper 7004 Color selection 7005 Printing method 7006 Page aggregation

Claims (9)

Reading means for reading out a PDF file composed of a plurality of pages from a storage unit, which has a non-PDF format and has an attached file that can be associated with a specified page of the PDF file;
Accepting means for accepting an instruction to print the PDF file without accepting an instruction to print the attached file;
Control means for causing the printing means to print the PDF file and the attached file in accordance with an instruction to print the PDF file received by the receiving means;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attached file is a file in a JPEG format or a TIFF format.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a first print setting is performed on the PDF file and a second print setting is performed on the attached file based on a user instruction.   4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when printing the PDF file, it is possible to set whether to print both the PDF file and the attached file, or to print the PDF file and not to print the attached file. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attached file is printed following a page associated with the PDF file.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit is a removable medium.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit is a storage unit in the image forming apparatus. A reading step of reading a PDF file consisting of a plurality of pages from a storage unit, which is a non-PDF format and has an attached file that can be associated with a specified page of the PDF file;
An accepting step of accepting an instruction to print the PDF file without accepting an instruction to print the attached file;
A control step of causing the printing means to print the PDF file and the attached file in accordance with an instruction to print the PDF file received by the receiving step;
A control method for an image forming apparatus, comprising: In the image forming device,
A reading step of reading a PDF file consisting of a plurality of pages from a storage unit, which is a non-PDF format and has an attached file that can be associated with a specified page of the PDF file;
An accepting step of accepting an instruction to print the PDF file without accepting an instruction to print the attached file;
And a control step of causing a printing unit to print the PDF file and the attached file in accordance with an instruction to print the PDF file received in the receiving step.

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